As we enter the second half of 2021 and continue our foray into the “AC” era (after Covid), it’s possible and even prudent to look back on some of the trends and lessons learned during the pandemic as a primer for how brands need to react quickly and pivot strategically when outside circumstances call for speedy maneuvers. The pandemic highlighted the need to listen to and encourage feedback from consumers in order to regularly meet current needs and predict upcoming trends.
This need to always have an “ear to the streets” isn’t going to change now that Covid is waning; in fact, recent consumer studies indicate that in order to create true customer loyalty and boost engagement, it will be crucial for brands to adapt to a strategy that both personalizes the customer journey and promotes messaging that reflects the current lifestyles and values of their customer base.
What challenges and opportunities should customer loyalty and engagement specialists consider as they plan for 2021? Here are five key trends to keep in mind:
- Mitigating Risk Via Omni Channel Offerings
The pandemic forced consumers to patronize brands and stores that took safety seriously and implemented protocols and options that reflected that commitment. According to a recent study by Forrester Research, contactless transactions have grown 69% since January of 2020. That is a trend that is expected to continue in our post-Covid world. 94% of retailers indicate they expect contactless payments and services to expand to an even greater degree over the next 18 months.
What does that mean for the near future? Consumers will expect to see brands offering options for accessing and ordering from their brands, as well as presenting them with an omnichannel experience that doesn’t compromise on the personalized customer journey they’ve come to expect from the brands to which they are loyal. Ensuring you are doing your part to present a personalized brand and buying experience and demonstrating that you have a commitment to delivering services and products with an eye to safety and protection protocols tells your customers that you care.
- Social Consciousness
More and more, today’s consumers are factoring in larger ideals (e.g., community involvement and sustainability) when they decide what and where to buy. And callout – or “cancel” – culture means brands are held publicly accountable for their decisions. Socially conscious decisions can be good for society and your business. Demonstrating you aren’t just in it for profits but also want to be a true partner and good steward in your communities is a significant way to increase loyalty as well as brand advocacy.
When deciding how you’re going to include a social consciousness into your marketing strategy, make sure you’re reading your customer base carefully. For example, if you’re a brand targeting millennials, look into what your brand can do to encourage sustainable packaging and resourcing, as this will resonate well with a demographic that has indicated these types of issues are incredibly important to them. If your products are more targeted to the Baby Boomer generation, you’ll want to look into involvement with organizations that donate time to helping the elderly maintain independent lives, etc. In other words, a commitment to being a brand with a social consciousness is wonderful, but make sure you “read the room” first.
- Invest in Being Trustworthy
There’s no doubt about it: today’s consumers are much savvier than in eras past. With a plethora of options available to them and several brands crowding their inbox looking for market share, consumers today have many options on where they spend their money. That’s why it’s crucial to make sure what you’re promising is what you’re delivering, whether that’s a commitment to making returns easy, or fast shipping, or claims about what your products and services can and will do for them. You’ll want to review things like your value proposition and your brand’s mission to make sure it’s consistent with what you’re delivering.
Keep in mind that today’s consumers have outlets like social media review sites Yelp! to call out a brand that hasn’t lived up to its the end of the transaction, and can also post reviews and comments on your own social media platforms that can harm your business. When you do make a mistake or have a hiccup in service, respond as quickly as possible to the consumer and if possible, do so publicly, so that other consumers can see that you won your mistakes and are quick to remedy them. It’s a good rule of thumb to adopt into your customer loyalty practice, as a recent study indicated that consumers who experienced a service problem that was quickly responded to and fixed are nearly TWICE as likely to be loyal to that brand. Know more customer loyalty trends visit here: https://www.groupfio.com/customer-loyalty-trends/
Customers are said to be the backbone of a business, especially when it comes to the existing customers.
Many companies focus on new customer acquisition but attracting new customers cost a business five times more than keeping an existing one.
This attachment should always be noted by the firm and relevant steps to be taken.
While nowadays, the consumer has a wider assortment and more platforms to shop from; the personal relationship with the retailer is more missing.
As customers move through this engagement, retailers learn more about these customers and are able to offer ways to satisfy their needs.
In another way, customer loyalty programs in retail are there for retailers to reconnect with their customers as individuals.
